Smart Sanctions Revisited [Abstract]

Targeted sanctions—often referred to as "smart sanctions"—began in large
measure as a response to the UN Security Council sanctions imposed on
Iraq in 1990 and 1991, after its invasion of Kuwait. By 1991 it was clear
that the sanctions on Iraq, initially welcomed by antiwar activists as a peaceful
alternative to military action, were different from any sanctions seen before.
Combined with the destruction from the bombing campaign of the Gulf War,
they were devastating to the Iraq economy and infrastructure, resulting in widespread
malnutrition, epidemics of water-borne diseases, and the collapse of
every system necessary to ensure human well-being in a modern society. As the
sanctions seemed to have no end in sight, there was considerable “sanctions fatigue”
within the United Nations, as well as a growing body of literature that questioned
whether sanctions were effective at obtaining compliance by the target
state, even when there was considerable impact on its economy.

In the wake of these concerns, there were efforts in many venues to design sanctions
that would not have the humanitarian impact of broad trade sanctions, and
that would also be more effective by putting direct pressure on individual national
policy-makers. These targeted sanctions included arms embargoes, financial sanctions
on the assets of individuals and companies, travel restrictions on the leaders
of a sanctioned state, and trade sanctions on particular goods. Many viewed targeted
sanctions as an especially promising tool for foreign policy and international
governance, and many still see targeted sanctions as a natural and obvious solution
to a broad array of difficult situations. But there are considerable difficulties
with each type of targeted sanction, with regard to implementation, humanitarian
impact, and, in some cases, due process rights. Some of these difficulties may be resolved as these measures continue to be refined. Others are rooted in fundamental
conflicts between competing interests or intractable logistical challenges.